I was on the move when this thread started (I know, no excuse as FTer ) and am only just joining the discussion. Some of the comments I'd like to make have already been made but here goes:

- How was the value for the money paid in 2009
I've added up exactly what I spent on flights and hotel stays for SMD1 but mercifully I can't find the spreadsheet . Starting in Europe I did the Full Monty from the pizza get-together in ORD to the slumber party in Seeheim, and thought the TATL portion was a very good value (one-way BD award in C to ORD, LH405 in C back to FRA). Like some other respondents I found the C fare for the charter wasn't such a good value compared with the Y fare bearing in mind that (apart from empty middle-seats) the difference was supposed to be in catering. My lunch might have consisted of a few slices of tomato and cucumber without the gallant effort by Oliver and Dirk, and I missed out on champagne and malt because drinks carts never reached where I was sitting.

Don't get me wrong. I wouldn't have missed the DO for anything and I enjoyed sitting right up front where the action was. Having Mods as FAs was fun but probably not practical and the galley was not made for ambitious catering.

For those of us who joined the DO at ORD, there was an awful lot of hanging around when we got to EWR. The tour of CO operations was a less interesting repeat of the UA operations tour earlier in the day. I would have preferred a tour of the kitchen facility but we did not have any choice.

- How many days can you be away to participate in a DO
I was away for 8 days in all for SMD1 including a few days in ORD before the DO. I can manage a similar number of days though it depends when the DO takes place. Earlier in the year it might be more difficult, later in the year it will be easier. 4-5 days with 1-2 day at either end for travel to/from the start would be fine.

- How much money will you be willing to spend
Depends on the itinerary but a similar amount as SMD1 which for me was in the region of $3,000-3,500. I hope there will be a discounted fare to get to/from the starting point for those who are based on the other side of the world.

I prefer to limit the number of US airports we go through as much as possible in the current situation and quite like Kiwi Flyer's idea of a Mini Circle Pacific starting and ending in SEA perhaps?